


Not Barking

by Rococo92



Category: Hit the Floor (TV)
Genre: Blow Jobs, Episode Tag, Hand Jobs, M/M, Masturbation, Post 2.09, post 2.08
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-24
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-08-17 01:45:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8125677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rococo92/pseuds/Rococo92
Summary: Add on to S2E8 & S2E9. Jude's inner dilemma as he struggles to come to terms with his burgeoning homosexuality and attraction to Zero, who is way too cool with this whole kissing thing and keeps flirting with him.  Use of show-dialogue and scenery. Explicit scenes of a sexual nature so NSFW.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Characters, show-dialogue and scenery are obviously not mine, but I wanted to see more of Jude's inner struggle and their first time.

“You’re barking up the wrong tree,” Zero says, surprisingly gentle and without a hint of anger in his voice. “But clearly barking.”

He even sounds _amused_. How on earth is he so relaxed about this? This is a fucking nightmare.

Jude is fighting for the right words, stammers: ”I’m not barking at anything…” but Zero’s not listening, telling him that he needs to get on the plane and “It’s fine…you’re gay. Be gay,” with some stupid little pat like he’s not even thinking about it anymore. All he can manage is a desperate: “I’m not gay!” as he leans out the open door of the town car.

He’s _not_ barking up any tree.

It was just a heat of the moment, thoughtless kind of thing. Zero had been so upset and he had just wanted to make it all better. No one has ever looked at Jude with the kind of trust and gratefulness that Zero had when he put his hand on Jude’s leg and that had just…unlocked something deep inside him.It felt good, being needed by someone that way, so sure that he had their back, that he would fix this giant fucking mess Zero had gotten himself into.

  
He’d warned him about Jelena, too. She may have been a big prize, but Jude had feared from the start that she came at a cost even _Zero_ couldn’t afford.

He couldn’t bring himself to be happy with the fact that she’d proved him right. It may have started as a something that Zero could control, hell, she’d been great for his public image, placing him directly in the spotlight that had been vacated by Terrence. Jude could tell when he started to lose control, though, vying for her attention, going head to head with Terrence over her because he’d started developing _feelings_ , no matter how hard he denied it. If there was one thing Jelena despised, it was a show of weakness, and Zero had given her precisely that. Jude should’ve kept a closer eye on him.

He knew Zero could be reckless, despite being a calculating son of a bitch. Not even he had planned ahead quite as far as Jelena clearly had. She probably had been working on digging up dirt on Zero from the moment he first approached her, in case she ever needed an out or ended up wanting something from him that he didn’t want to give.

Still, Jude should’ve known better, made sure that Zero’s _less than savory_ appetites didn’t turn up, but he’d dropped the ball by getting wrapped up by Oscar and Lionel. His focus should’ve been on his star client – his friend. As the town car drives Jude back to his place, already paid for by Zero, he starts thinking of ways to spin this to their advantage.

Yes, it didn’t exactly fit Zero’s “Praise Jesus” persona, but perhaps that could work. It was pretty much out now that his whole religious thing had been a ploy, like the reporter had commented. His good guy-persona ship has sailed and there was nothing they could do to bring it back now.

Truth is though; people love Reformed Bad Boys.

He needs to contact the right companies, get Zero interviews in the right magazines where he dropped the right quotes, order some shoots aimed towards his new image, not to mention get him into the right parties…He has to make Zero into the sexiest bad boy LA had ever seen.

It will spin them closer to Derek’s territory as the resident Devils’ bad boy, so it has the double effect of starting their second part of the plan: take over the Devils by getting rid of Derek Roman. It might seem strange that Jude is willing to play his clients against each other, but he knows what he has in Zero. He’s not so sure with Derek, especially with the coke business looming over both of their heads. Like he said, he’s _team Zero_.

He takes out his phone, scrolling through his list of contacts, his list of magazines and companies already sponsoring Devils players. The bigger the better, but they had to be willing to even come close to Zero first. Some major damage control was in order. Some of that is going to be on Zero himself – he has to kill the next few games and score major points, both on and off the court, but most of that Jude can do as his agent. He notes which companies had backed troubled players before and which ones had dropped their sponsorship at the first hint of conflict. Those won’t be touching Zero with a ten-foot pole and they need to focus on getting new sponsors in fast.

The fact that this was a sex-scandal is fortuitous. Sex sells, even better when it’s a bit scandalous.

  
He looks up the company that Zero was using for his prostitutes and sees that _at least_ it’s a classy joint, even though they should definitely work on their privacy standards.  
He has the number from Zero for his main contact and drafts a first email, asking them to keep their silence from now on and to make an official statement that this was the first and only time Zero had used them. The girls will have to make some coy comment about not expecting some religious dude hailing from Ohio to be so good in bed, which will play nicely into his new, playful image.

Everything needs to be said with a wink, a careful insinuation but never an outright statement. It means Zero will need to _stop_ apologizing in interviews and start doing what he’s actually really good at: charming the pants off of the interviewers. They tend to be taken in easily by a pretty face and a cheeky grin, and Zero happens to possess a particularly cheeky one.

Jude feels his stomach swoop as he pictures it, Zero leaning in close, mouth quirked up more in one corner than the other, eyes narrowed as he stares his agent down.  
He forcibly shuts that image down, focusing on his calendar as he adds items and people to call. Tomorrow, he’ll be busy working his ass off for Zero. The guy had better be grateful.

The town car pulls up at his apartment and Jude pockets his phone before reaching for the door handle. It opens before he has a chance to reach it, the driver stepping back to allow him room to get out of the car.

“Have a good night, Mr. Kinkade,” he greets with a tip of his hat.

Jude flushes at the thought of Zero talking to his driver about him and tries not wonder what he said.

He’s feeling bone-tired by the time he lets himself fall into bed, but he can’t fall asleep. His mind keep straying to Zero. He goes over the plan about ten times in his mind, but even that won’t make him fall asleep.

  
His phone buzzes despite the late hour. He squints at the bright screen until the black letters stop being fuzzy.

**02:13 ZERO**

_Go to sleep_

He smiles despite himself and types back:

**02:14 JUDE**

_You too, you have a game to kill tomorrow_

**02:14 ZERO**

_Bossy_

**02:15 ZERO**

_Shut off your brain and go to sleep_

Somehow, the interaction has managed to calm his whirling thoughts and he plugs his phone back into the loader, settling back into the pillows with a sigh.

* * *

 

The following days, Jude is up early each morning, sending out his first emails before he’s even finished eating breakfast. He arranges interviews with key reporters; ones he knows will ask the right questions.

The day Zero gets back from the away games he’s doing some shoots to help re-establish him. He doesn’t speak to Zero much, because all he can do lately is get on Jude’s case for kissing him in the car. He does his best to forget about it, but it’s not exactly easy with Zero teasing him every time they talk, so he just stops talking eventually, sending only emails and texts.

He’s his agent, so he can’t let it affect his work, but he avoids going to the Arena. He can work from home just as well, since he has copies of all of his files and his laptop with him. Most of what Jude does, he does by memory, anyway. He’s on the phone with prospective sponsors for what feels like hours at a time, eventually managing to land a spot with Trojan and some underwear company he’s never heard of, under the condition that Zero get his reputation on track first. It’s clear he’s a bit too hot to handle right now, and not in a good way.

Zero is going to need new headshots, too, to be posted on the Devils website and printed on the new merch coming out. He grabs Zero’s folder from his home office (i.e. the table in front of the couch) and starts paging through it to see what he’s already done before.

Of course, most of the previous shoots were pretty tame, Zero mostly dressed and smiling into the camera like a good Christian boy. There are a few though, for a shower gel or something, that show him wearing only dark jeans, doused with water, staring hungrily from the page up at Jude.

Heat pools in his stomach, and he quickly turns the page, but it’s another photo from the same shoot, and Zero’s jeans are slipping off his slim hips, the V of his toned belly clearly showing. He has his hands stuffed in his pockets, which is probably what is causing the jeans to balance on the dangerous edge of sexy and sleazy, emphasizing his broad arms at the same time.

Jude takes in Zero’s muscular biceps and defined shoulders, stroking one finger along the page as he follows Zero’s body. He looks amazing in this picture, yes, but it’s the look on his face that does it for Jude. It’s the same type of look he gave Jude in the car, the one that had caused him to kiss him in the first place.

He shifts uneasily on the couch, snapping the folder shut.

“But clearly barking,” runs through his mind like a gunshot.

“I’m _not_ barking!” He says out loud, to precisely no one.

He lets himself sink bank into the couch with a groan.  
He’ll get nothing done with thoughts of kissing Zero clogging his mind. He needs to make sure this whole kissing-a-guy-thing wasn’t a fluke.

Maybe it was just Zero, with his stupid attractive face and soulful eyes that got him all tied up. He thinks of the other men that he knows and doesn’t feel even a pinch of attraction, can’t recall ever really feeling that way about anyone before, including women, now that he thinks about it.

He was always too busy getting himself up in the world didn’t have time or interest in dating. All that mattered was proving himself to Oscar, showing him that he made a mistake leaving Jude and his mother behind. But now… Now things are different. Oscar seems to be opening up to him – or at least sees some of Jude’s worth, what with bringing in a huge star like Zero and getting Lionel to show up at the Arena for games.

Now, he has time to fulfill other needs that he wasn’t even sure he had at first. Zero has him fucking overflowing with emotions and he needs to figure out if it’s just Zero or if this is more than that. Jesus, this could turn his whole world upside down.

He’s sure no one has ever searched for gay porn with such a sense of doom before. It’s one sure way to find out if he’s sexually attracted to men, but he’s not even really sure where to start.

He doesn’t know the big companies by name, so he just types “ _Gay Porn_ ” in the search bar and gets a whole bunch of links.

He clicks on one that looks promising and tries not to let his eyes bulge out of their sockets at the naked dicks and assholes that instantly fill his screen.  
It’s all very overwhelming so he clicks back for another link.

This one at least shows the guys’ faces and he keeps scrolling until he finds one with a cute blonde. He does _not_ look like Zero, even a little bit. Really.

He enters his credit card information, since it’s a paid service. Who knows, he might need more than one to confirm his suspicions. He opens the video, which starts out on a black leather couch. The two guys are sitting next to each other, talking to the camera as if for an interview.

He watches them, being clearly affectionate with each other, stroking each other’s legs and playing with each other's hands as they talk.  
Eventually, they look at each other and start making out, first soft and sweet, which turns heated quickly. They are grasping each other’s faces with their large hands, like they can’t get close enough.

It looks passionate, and Jude feels something stirring. He places a hand over his crotch, feels that he’s starting to get hard.

Well, that certainly answers _that_ question.

On the screen, the couple has tipped over so that they are stretched out on the couch on top of each other. Their hands are wandering now, traveling under shirts and grasping at their jeans.  
They are grinding on each other, slow movements of their hips that Jude follows as he unzips himself from his slacks. He wriggles them down his hips along with his boxers and takes his dick in one hand.

He’s fully hard now, but he wants to keep watching so he strokes slowly, dragging it out. The guys on screen are undressing each other, making out in between, and it’s clear they’ve done it before since it’s going pretty smoothly.

Jude is sure he’d make an ass out of himself if he did this with Zero. Probably trip on his pants or something.

But this is _not_ about Zero, he reminds himself sternly, attention going back to the porn video.

The blonder guy is jacking off the slightly darker-haired one; one hand wrapped expertly around his dick (which is frankly a bit on the overly big side) while the other teases his nipples. They’re still making out, moaning into each other’s mouths.

Jude speeds up his hand a little, but the dryness isn’t working for him. He kicks off his slacks completely and takes the laptop with him to the bedroom, where he has a tube of lube stashed in his bedside table.

He’s a single guy, after all.

By the time he’s settled on the bed, the tables have turned in the video. The blonde guy is leaning back onto the couch, the darker one on his knees on the floor, head between his legs as he’s taking in the blonde guy’s dick. He gets pretty close to the base and starts bobbing his head up and down.

Jude slathers his hand in lube and wraps it around his own dick again, imagines a hot mouth instead. The slick helps, and soon his hips are pumping up his cock into his hand.

The blonde guy grasps the head of the other in both his hands to hold him still and starts fucking into this mouth, groaning as he does so. It looks fucking hot and Jude feels his balls tighten.

“Fuck,” he bites out as he speeds up his hand, other one reaching up to toy with his nipple. He’s never really done that before, but a slight pinch adds another jolt of pleasure he wasn’t expecting.

Just a few more strokes and he’s coming with a long, drawn-out moan. He keeps his hand moving through it until his dick gets too sensitive and rests his head down on his pillows.

Fuck indeed.

 

* * *

 

 

After he’s cleaned up after himself and gotten himself back together, he checks his phone for the first time in an hour.

It’s blowing up with messages: responses from potential sponsors, some extra reporters he didn’t get in touch with himself wanting to get a one-on-one with Zero.

There’s also a voicemail from the agency, telling him that Zero’s apparently not participating in the shoot he’d arranged for Derek, Terrence and Zero.  
As the top three dogs in the team, they need to be seen as a solid unit. They can’t do that if Zero’s always on the sidelines of their bromance.

The fact that Zero’s not joining in, is not something he factored in while creating his plan to re-establish Zero. Jude’s been working on this too hard to let him get away with that though.

He’s found that Zero tends to listen better when they talk in person, so he has no other choice than to go over to the Arena and make that stubborn son of a bitch get a picture taken.

The drive takes less time than usual since he’s fully utilizing the Porsche’s power and he storms into the Court while he's still got the righteous fury burning inside him to make him forget about his nerves about seeing Zero.

Zero’s sitting there, _glowering_ at Terrence and Derek as they’re being oiled up by their girlfriends.

He’s more interested in goading Jude than participating in the shoot, but in the end Jude manages to convince him to strip and join in.

Jude valiantly ignores the offer to oil him up. He’s not Jelena or Asha. He’s not even…Well.

The impressed look Zero shoots him after he badgers the photographer’s assistant is enough to send him speeding out of there, that strange feeling tugging at his chest again. It’s definitely that look though, and not the vision of Zero all oiled up and – Jude swallows hard – naked.

After his experiment earlier though, Jude doesn’t even manage to convince himself. He heads up to the balcony to check out the shoot from a distance.

* * *

 

This whole self-denial thing is clearly not working. Zero’s gotten under his skin, clouding his thoughts even when Jude’s meant to working on other things.

When Danny approaches him, Jude is so frazzled that he doesn’t even fully understand the conversation they’re having until it’s over– Danny, who thinks he’s gay and interested in him.

Before he can think it through, Jude sends him a text to meet him at the Devils party. He has to at least try. Jude rubs a hand down his face and sighs deeply.

How did he get in this mess?

The answer knocks on his door just as he’s getting ready for the Devils party. Zero is most definitely _not_ dressed for a party and Jude is fighting to keep his eyes off of him as he lounges on his couch. It’s like he’s doing it on purpose, dragging out the time they’re spending together, flashing his body at Jude like it’s meant to do something.

Jude’s blood is practically singing in his veins and he can’t keep still. Danny’s waiting for him. It feels like much more than that. It feels like his whole life is waiting for him at this stupid party.

 _Of course_ Zero picks up on it. Jude’s never really been good at lying to him.

“You seem antsier than usual,” He comments, and Jude wants to scoff at the insult. He’s not antsy, damn it. He’s just… High-strung.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you have your own reasons to get to this party.” And so Jude tells him, against his better judgment, because he’s Team Zero and he’s pretty sure Zero is Team Jude, in his own way.

He’s expecting Zero to tease him about it, but Zero’s not saying all that much as he changes shirt after shirt, dissing all of them. It’s not his fault that he can’t afford the type of clothes the baller is used to. In fact, he might have get himself a bigger percentage if this whole re-branding thing works out in their favour. Still, client / friend or not, Zero’s being a dick and it’s getting late.

“You look pretty, let’s go while there’s still a party to go.”

Jude can hear the eye-roll in Zero’s response: “I’m sure Danny, the photographer’s assistant, will be fine.”

There’s more to it than exasperation, though. It’s almost like…

“Sounds like you’re jealous,” he takes a shot in the dark. But he doesn’t think he misses, not when Zero goes straight onto defense.

“Really Jude?” He sneers, “What’s next, you’re gonna double dog dare me to go?” He mocks Jude, but it doesn’t work, because Jude can suddenly see very clearly what Zero is doing.

He really is stalling. What he’s not sure about, is why. It’s not like Zero to miss out on a party.

Taking a deep breath (and the plunge) Jude asks the question that’s burning on the tip of his tongue. He hopes he won’t be disappointed.

“Do _you_ not want to go to the party or do you not want _me_ to go the party?”

Zero makes a show of looking around the living room, retorting:” No one’s stopping you,” he says.

Jude steps closer to him, grabs himself firmly by the balls and says: “If I did kiss you on purpose in that car, and I’m not saying I did,” he pauses, before continuing, “It’s not because I was crazy.”

He starts believing in it too, as he looks over Zero. “It’s not because I was going off of nothing.”

Zero doesn’t say anything, just twists his head like ‘ _what can you do_ ’.

After the stressful days he’s just had, Jude really doesn’t feel like babying him anymore, so he nods and swallows his pride.

“Fine, have it your way. Danny is waiting.” He tries to pass by Zero, who pushes him back with a sigh.

“You don’t even know the guy,” he protests.

“I’m about to.” Jude tells him, before making a move to bypass him again. This time, Zero doesn’t stop him with his hand, but with his mouth, capturing Jude is a passionate, albeit short kiss.

They look at each other and Jude sees _something_ there, he _does_ , so he grabs Zero by the neck and pulls him in for his own passionate kiss.

This one just doesn’t stop.

It feels amazing, Zero reciprocating the kiss wholeheartedly as they bump into furniture and walls. Jude feels hot and excited, and he wants to touch Zero all over.

They both take off their shirts and he can finally run his hands over Zero’s toned stomach. Zero’s is doing the same, before gliding his hands down to Jude’s belt.

Jude freezes into the kiss, suddenly nervous.

He doesn’t really know what he’s doing and the sense of that hits him like a ton of bricks. What if he sucks at this?

“ _Relax_ ,” Zero mumbles against his mouth, pulling back a little. Jude stares at him in wonder; how can Zero be so fucking chill about this? It feels like he’s at the precipice of something and Zero’s the one pulling him over the edge.

“I’m just – I’ve never –,” Jude starts, hands grasping Zero’s waist just so he has something to hold onto. Zero grins at him.

“I know. Lemme show you,” he says, pulling Jude towards his bedroom.

The fact that he seems to know exactly where he’s going and what he’s going to do to Jude once he gets there is such a fucking turn-on that Jude feels his own smile slipping back onto his face.

Zero tosses him on the bed, stripping out of his pants before crawling on top of him, trailing kisses on Jude’s abdomen as he does so. Once he’s at eye-level, he thumbs at Jude’s belt again.

“This okay?” He asks gently, starting to undo the fastenings. Jude swallows and nods, reaching down to help, but Zero bats his hands away.

“Just let me, okay?” Zero unbuttons his slacks, jerking them down his legs and Jude helps him by lifting his hips off the bed. His erection is obvious in his boxers and he feels a blush heating his cheeks. Is he supposed to just lie here and do nothing?

Zero is plying his neck with kisses and little nibbles, while his hands keep busy running over his stomach, teasing close to the waistband of his boxers, but never straying further than that. It’s maddening.

With a grunt, he twists to the side, pushing Zero to mirror the position and disarming him with a kiss. This way, they are closer together, and Jude pushes a leg in between Zero’s on impulse.  
It presses their clothed erections together, startling a moan out of both of them.

Jude winds his arms around Zero’s back, just as Zero is doing the same to him to pull him even closer. A twist of the hips has them grinding on each other, but the angle is wrong and he can’t get the right leverage.

Zero changes that by grabbing onto his ass and pulling him forward. They topple over slightly so that Zero’s on the bottom, but this way he can move Jude the way he wants.  
Even with their boxers in the way, the feeling is amazing. They continue making out, writhing on the bed together, until they’re both panting in each other’s mouths.

Suddenly, Zero pushes him back onto his bad, sliding abruptly down. He pulls down Jude’s boxers before he even knows what is happening and engulfs him in his mouth easily.

Jude chokes on his next breath;” Fuck- Zero.”

“Hmm,” He hums, popping off of his dick with an obscene slurp. “Maybe later. First, I’m gonna suck you off.”

He smirks at Jude before lowering back down, taking Jude back in his mouth a bit more gently this time, teasing at the slit with his tongue. Jude grasps the sheets with his hands, feeling overwhelmed already. They’ve only just started and he already feels like he could come three times in a row.

Zero has no trouble taking him in all the way, expertly bobbing up and down and managing to get some well-timed sucks and twists in there. He’s _so_ fucking good at this, and Jude tells him so, voice breathy and hoarse like he’s the one with a cock down his throat.

Zero hums again, making his throat vibrate Jude’s cock and just starts sucking harder. One hand sneaks in between Jude’s legs to play with his balls and perineum.

He presses down with his thumb and something just breaks. Before Jude can warn him, he’s coming, shooting deep in the back of Zero’s throat, who valiantly stays down and swallows, even though Jude hears him choke a bit.

Jude pushes him off as soon as he’s able, muttering: “Sorry, sorry, I just-” and Zero laughs at him, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.

“It’s fine, Jude,” he chuckles, “I’ll take it as a compliment.”

He’s still wearing his boxers and Jude can see a wet spot forming where he must be leaking pre-come. He’s being really selfish here and Zero must be aching by now. He takes a deep breath and sneaks a hand inside his boxers, grabbing his dick with a firm hand before his thoughts can take over. He tries to do what feels good to him, and it seems to be working, since Zero lets out a loud groan.

He takes off his own boxers to aid Jude’s motions, but he’s not offering any instructions, so Jude just takes his cues from his noises and the way his face twists up in pleasure. He tightens his grip and swipes his thumb over the tip, spreading the slick that’s gathered at the slit.

“Jesus,” Zero curses before he crashing his mouth onto Jude’s in a lingering kiss. Jude figures that’s a pretty good sign so he keeps doing it, and Zero keeps making these adorable little whimpers as he presses his fingers hard into Jude’s shoulders, like he needs something to hold onto.

Jude is the one who’s doing that to him. He feels amazed and kind of proud of himself. He bends his head to suck a nipple into his mouth, nibbling softly with his teeth.

“Uh-huh – oh – Fuck!” Zero groans, and Jude’s hand is suddenly covered in warm come. He keeps stroking until Zero bats at his hand and reaches over to the nightstand to get tissues.

“Jesus, Jude,” Zero muses as he lounges on the bed. “I gotta admit I wasn’t expecting that.” He sounds wrecked.

Jude shoots him a look over his shoulder and he can’t keep the smile off his face. “Me neither.” Zero returns his smile with one of his own and Jude feels his stomach flutter again.

_Not barking, my ass._


End file.
